Defendant pleads guilty in triple homicide case

COLUMBIA — Joshua Maylee, 26, pleaded guilty to the murders of three people in Holts Summit and was sentenced to life in prison.

Maylee pleaded guilty Monday in Boone County Circuit Court to three counts of first-degree murder, for the shooting deaths of Jeff Werdehausen and Eugene and Jackie Pinet, and one count of first-degree assault for the shooting of Gina Werdehausen.

Maylee was sentenced by Judge Kevin Crane to life without parole on each murder charge and a life sentence for the first-degree assault.

Maylee was arrested in October 2010, less than two days after the Callaway County Sheriff's office responded to an emergency call from Gina Werdehausen, of Holts Summit, that she and her husband, Jeff Werdehausen, had been shot at their home.

Police found the body of Jeff Werdehausen and also responded to the call of another reported homicide at a second Holts Summit residence where police found the bodies of Eugene and Jackie Pinet.

Gina Werdehausen was found with a gunshot wound in her neck and was taken to University Hospital for treatment. The hospital was put on lockdown as police searched for Maylee.

According to probable cause statements, police found spent shell casings discovered at the residence of Maylee's girlfriend, whom he lived with, matched the casings found at the two crime scenes.